Debbie Chen

Debbie Chen is an Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Director at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Department of Architecture. She holds a BArch from the University of Southern California and an MArch from Princeton University. Her work explores material ecologies, industrial processes, and infrastructure to reveal the invisible forces shaping built environments. Notable projects include Geothermal Culture (ongoing since 2023) and Drawdown: Play to Enter, a 2022 Architectural Activism Fellowship project at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Her research bridges architecture and climate activism, employing gameplay to visualize environmental challenges. Awards include the Holcim Award Next Generation (2014, 1st Prize). Recent initiatives include the RISD Design Research Seed Fund-supported Intermediary Softness: A Water Infrastructure (2024) and Under The Table, presented at the CU Denver College of Architecture and Planning (2023).

Chen’s projects often address post-carbon monumentality, waste management, and urban systems. She is a licensed architect in New York and Wisconsin, and her work has been published in Volume 47 and Pidgin 23.